About This Blog

A QualitEvolution is intended to capture positions and experiences as a participant in the evolution of the Quality profession into the 21st century. From its origins as the brainchild of Corporate Industrial Statisticians, our profession has transformed and evolved to incorporate and adapt to the demands and expectations of our modern existence.

The scope of the subject matter within A QualitEvolution extends to the furthest ranges of quality, business transformation, management science, and quality issues especially pertinent to the members of ASQ in Canada.

Friday, March 25, 2016

I was very delighted to read the recent View From The Q post by ASQ Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Shontra Powell. Having had the pleasure to become personally acquainted, I will refer to the author as Shontra.

Before I comment on the well-researched and thought-provoking viewpoints expressed by Shontra, I wanted to first share some of my own analysis. The ASQ Community Development team, through its Friday Fast Facts email publication, provides a link to Growth and Retention numbers for ASQ Sections in North America.

As there is a PAR Performance Award granted to ASQ Sections (in Good Standing) who demonstrate year over year success with membership growth and retention, I wanted to review the performance of sections in Region 4 (ASQ Canada), and compare that with other geographic regions.

My discovery was that in Canada, and across North America, ASQ is in a period of decline and diminished retention rates. The current overall North America outcomes have a membership of approximately 60,000 members, with an annual growth rate of -4%, and a retention rate of 68% (based on the averages of totals for Sections).

A review of the various ASQ sections identified a particular trend: Higher retention rates correlated with higher net growth rates. This is logical, since sections with fewer members to replace can maintain and surpass their existing levels with fewer new members.

Assuming that member growth is constant, the attribute which is within our control and which can determine overall membership levels is member retention.

According to this data, ASQ cannot hope to meet its growth targets until member retention is at or surpasses 80%.

Among the insights within Shontra's post, the following would be constructive and beneficial toward the increased interest and engagement of our existing members, and consequently the basis for their long-term retention:
- Continued personal and professional growth (at member discounts with value and cost recovery)
- Part of connected physical and virtual communities
- Instant enhancements of knowledge through 24/7 portals and continuous information channels
- Breakthrough equity (I referred to this member value as "Loyalty Capital") which measures the worth of information and content.

I agree with Shontra, and the current numbers support that changes should be embraced. In reality, the graphs will not be linear; demographic shifts and industrial changes will cause abrupt chasms to appear over the next 15-20 years as Baby Boomers leave the workforce. If these changes are resisted or obstructed, the outcome will be the continued decline of our Society, until it must either be removed or absorbed into a more viable professional organization as one of its components.

If we do retain our membership, we will also retain the legacies and contributions of our Pioneers of Quality. Member retention is essential to the preservation of our continuity and commitment to Quality.

To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

When there are discussions about the relevance and applicability of an ASQ Certification, it is important to review the source material from which the certification is derived, and which it uses to create exams.

ASQ is in the software quality domain. I have recently taken
on a commitment to craft practice exam questions. The reference list is
below. Given that we are now in 2016, I will highlight the relative ages
of the reference. Then consider how much software has evolved.

The range is 21 years with the newest publication 6 year old, and the oldest 27 years. I plugged this into MS Excel and
got the following

14.6

Mean

13.5

Median

12

Mode

It will be very difficult to convince people that CSQE is relevant
for 2016 when the cluster of books was written in the prior generation. Most software products from the early 2000s are past end-of-life and need to be
retired or replaced. In addition, there have been many trends and advances in software and applications which this material does not address or consider because these practices were not yet functional:

- Mobile applications "apps"- Software as a service- Social media and platforms- Open access freeware- Sharing servicesIt is not my intent to disparage the excellent resources below. I have put in bold those particular references which I personally possess and highly recommend.

However I believe that this foundation of material should be augmented with more contemporary resources in Software Quality, particularly in the relevant Software QA issues of 2016 and beyond.

CSQE Reference List 2015

These
books cover the parts of the Body of Knowledge. ASQ Certification Board does
not endorse any one particular reference source.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

This is a particular message which, if I do nothing else in ASQ, I hope will be associated with any legacy I may have.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I am a modest man because I have much to be modest about. In my middle age, my aspirations have shifted so that on a good day, I can claim to be punctual, polite, and have good personal hygiene. Unfortunately in 2016, possession of these three attributes concurrently elevates one to the top percentile of society.

As far as the merits and benefits of ASQ certification are concerned, I defer to the many articles already published in ASQ Quality Progress, along with the excellent ASQ video available on YouTube.

I have been synchronizing my certifications for 15 years, and consequently have been able to retain the original certifications I attained back in the mid-late 1990s. I have always appreciated this member benefit, but it was only recently that I realized that non-members of ASQ who wish to recertify their credentials have to do so individually at a substantially higher rate.

Assuming that the non-member does not abandon their certification or lets it lapse, the long-term commitment of a perpetual certification is $109 USD, payable every 3 years, for the rest of a career. For someone who achieved their credentials in their 20s and 30s, that could result in funding an additional 10-12 renewal cycles. This adds a long-term cost of $1000-1500 per renewable ASQ certification, unless ASQ member discounts are applied.

This long-term consideration is generally not considered, but let's say that a practitioner with 4 certifications (CQA, CQE, CSSBB, and CMQ/OE) wants their ASQ credentials to be relevant for the next 15 years (5 renewal cycles). The chart below show that the member would save over $400 USD by renewing these as an ASQ Member, and these savings would be compounded 5 times, giving a nominal long-term member benefit of $2000 USD (even more when the time-value of money is considered).

To those ASQ members with 1 or fewer renewable certifications, the benefits of certificate synchronization do not apply. Not all career models are served by having multiple certifications, but I personally advocate that a managerial CMQ/OE complements the technical certifications like CQE, CRE, or CSQE.

According to the current pricing model, certificate renewal brings incremental advantages over a 3 year period. Let's drop the whole 9 and round up prices numbers divisible by 10.

Every 3 years, the certifications have to be renewed. The savings of doing renewals within an ASQ membership (and available discounts) are immediately available on the first certification, and if you are renewing 5 or more, the cost recovery from the money saved actually exceeds the cost of ASQ membership. This means that the investment of ASQ membership is recovered every 3 years through certification renewal savings alone. It's a good deal, and one of the most valuable and under-publicized benefits of a long-term commitment to ASQ.

ASQ Influential Voices

ASQ Influential Voices

I am part of the ASQ Influential Voices program. While I receive an honorarium from ASQ for my commitment, the thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own. Read more from ASQ Influential Voices at http://www.asq.org/blog/.